Joanne Tawfilis, founder of the Art Miles Project

Mural from the Peace, Unity & Healing Mile (The-Art-Miles-Mural-Project.org)

Joanne Tawfilis is the executive director of The Art Miles Mural Project, which she co-founded with her late husband, Fouad Tawfilis. As of 2019, The Art Miles Mural Project has mobilized more than 500,000 people from more than 125 countries to paint more than 5,000 murals. When the project reached 4,000 murals, they were displayed at the "Culture Wheel" in Cairo, Egypt and live streamed to over 200 million people globally. The United States presented the Art Miles as an exhibition in Paris, France, at the UNESCO headquarters. People from all over the world, of all ages and cultures, create the art, which is either painted or sewn onto canvas. Joanne and Fouad wanted to create a project that would "teach children understanding and respect."

Joanne Tawfilis (The-Art-Miles-Mural-Project)

The first murals I saw were at the iEARN conference in Slovakia in 2004.

I remember brilliant colors, paintings of people and animals and plants, finger-paintings and even one mural from Africa that was all hand-sewn from scraps of fabric because they didn't have paintbrushes and paints. But my favorite one was blank. This was the one that was to be painted by us, the Youth Summit, at the iEARN conference. Kids from Japan, Africa, Russia, Egypt, Taiwan and many other countries joined together to create one big piece of art. I remember kids laughing and having a great time painting. From my experience, I feel that Joanne and Fouad's project truly embraces peace by bringing people together.

Some thoughts from Joanne:

"Somehow we (my husband Fouad and myself) never dreamt the mural project would get so much attention."

Joanne and Fouad Tawfilis (The-Art-Miles-Mural-Project.org)

"With each brush stroke, the masterpiece grows like a spring flower in an overnight rainstorm."

"When we look at the murals, each of them, we see something new each time and savor the joy of children being together unaffected by the barriers the world so readily constructs around them."

"By growing up in a world of bigotry and racism, sexism, and all the other "isms" that exist, this mural project works like an electric eraser. It washes away the years of tears, the injured heart, the clipped wings, the prisons and ropes that always get in the way of letting us care, really care, about each other."

"For all YOU parents, teachers, organizations, leaders, students, business people, individuals, caregivers, and loving citizens, thank you, thank you, thank you! We believe what is happening is fulfilling our objective of creating global harmony through art."

An Amazingly Beautiful Mural

The beautiful mural above is the dedication mural of The Women's Mural Mile. It was painted by Austrian artist Silvia Pecha in honor of Joanne's mentor, artist Laurel Burch, "a courageous and lifelong woman humanist, whose artwork has served as an inspiration and healing vehicle to women worldwide."

Many canvasses have already been painted, but there's still much work to be done. Maybe after you read this, you'll help Joanne by creating a mural of your own. Go to The Art Miles Mural Project website below and see how you can be a part of creating this masterpiece.

Details from two separate murals done by children in Cuba and Canada.